Forever and Always
by SunnyMagicKingdom
Summary: How is it possible for the lazy ass Shikamaru Nara and the 'troublesome' Ino Yamanaka to be best friends? They aren't so sure themselves despite knowing each other for their whole lives. What they know is that their relationship is slowly changing in ways they don't expect. Will they be together forever and always? (AU)
1. Childhood Friends

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! This is my second Naruto fanfic and this time, I'm featuring another one of my favourite pairings; Shikamaru and Ino! I don't really know why but I just love these two together. It's rather fun seeing two very different people together, I guess. Anyways, I just like them a whole lot. So I hope everyone likes this story too!

Oh, and this story is based on modern Japan. So the characters do not have ninjutsu and all that.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Childhood Friends

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

"Shikamaru! Get your lazy ass out of your bed!"

" _What the hell? Why is she so loud early in the morning?"_ I thought, feeling irritated, as always.

"Shikamaru Nara! You heard me! Get up!"

" _Why can't she just shut up?"_ I don't understand why she bothers coming over to my house every morning to wake me up for school.

"You lazy bastard! You'll be late if you don't get put now!"

I felt a strong push on my side and before I could do anything, I was already on the floor.

I got up slowly, feeling slight pain on my back and bottom. I glared at the blonde girl in front of me, who was grinning so happily as if she just won some competition.

"You're so troublesome, Ino."

I said that before dragging myself to the bathroom to get ready.

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

" _That Shikamaru is such a lazy ass!"_ I think to myself as I sat down on Shikamaru's bed.

I've known Shikamaru my whole life, literally. Our fathers were best friends even before Shikamaru and I were born. Our families were neighbors as well. That was also why I'm always around Shikamaru.

A lot of people in school thought it was weird that I could get along with Shikamaru, with our clashing personality and all that. I guess I got comfortable being around Shikamaru, although I'm often annoyed at him.

" _I mean, how could someone be so lazy!"_

While Shikamaru was taking his own sweet time in the bathroom, I looked around his huge room. His bed was king sized and was soft. There weren't much in his room actually. There was a desk with not much on it, a big plasma TV and a walk in closet. Yes, Shikamaru Nara had a walk in closet.

It was actually his mother's idea but it was still funny to think that he has a walk in closet.

Shikamaru came from a rich family so it was not a surprise to find so many expensive looking stuffs around his room. At the corner, I saw some golf equipment and laughed a little.

" _Shikamaru mentioned that his father is forcing him to learn how to play golf. He expressed his hatred towards it rather clearly too."_ I thought as I stood up to look around.

I've been to this room lot, countless times actually. But it was still fun to walk around since I get to find some interesting things sometimes. There was once when I found a rather inappropriate magazine on his bookshelf. Shikamaru insisted that it belonged to Kiba and he left it there when he came over.

I wasn't sure whether that was the truth or not, though.

I didn't bother much about it. It's rather normal actually. After all, Shikamaru was a growing teenager.

The two of us had been attending the same school, which is Konoha Academy, together since we were three years old. Right now, at the age of sixteen, we were already in the first year of senior high school.

Just then, the bathroom door opened and Shikamaru came out, still looking sleepy and pissed off.

I ignored that, as usual, and gave him a bright smile, "Let's go!"

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

Ino was in front of me when we were walking down the spiral staircase in my house. She looked energetic, which was the complete opposite of what I looked like.

We were at the door when one of the butlers approached us, "Shikamaru-sama, Ino-sama, since there is still time before school starts, Shikaku-sama is asking whether the two of you wants to have breakfast?"

I looked at a nearby clock on the wall and realized there was still plenty of time left. I glared at Ino and said, "Why in the world did you wake me up so damn early?"

She completely ignored me and followed the butler to the dining hall.

"Thanks, Ino. If it weren't for you, my lazy ass son will be late to school everyday."

I rolled my eyes when I heard my father said that and just continued eating breakfast.

"No problem at all, Shikaku-san! I guess you can say it became a habit. After all, I've been waking him up for school everyday since third grade." Ino said while grinning happily, as if being able to wake me up was a huge achievement.

To be honest, it is quite an achievement I guess.

I remembered when I was in third grade, I was late to school for five days in a row. I became lazier, I guess. It became very difficult for the maids and butlers to wake me up. It was then when Ino decided to give it a try and see if she can wake me up on time.

Not surprisingly, she managed to do so. She's so loud after all.

Since that day, she just became used to waking me up for school.

After bidding goodbye to my parents, Ino and I got into the black Audi limo that was parked in front of the mansion's main door.

Ino talked about random stuffs throughout the whole car ride. I didn't respond much, as usual.

As for her, she was rather used to me being unresponsive.

At least I think she was used to it.

The car stopped in front of our school and we got out, just in time for class. Ino was greeting almost everyone along the way while I just didn't care.

Ino kept on telling me that I should interact more but, like I said, I didn't care.

It's not like I didn't have friends. I just didn't enjoy small talks like how Ino very much enjoyed it.

Our class was rather far so I had to endure fifteen minutes of hearing Ino talking to random people about random unimportant things.

Our school was really huge, which was a problem for someone as lazy as me. It took a lot of time getting to places and it was just too troublesome. Ino didn't mind, of course, because it meant she had more chances of talking to people.

" _I don't understand this troublesome woman."_ I thoughts as I continued walking to our class.

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

" _I've been telling Shikamaru to be more talkative but he doesn't listen!"_ I thought as I continued saying hi to everyone I knew along the way.

There was something that bothered me more than the fact that Shikamaru didn't enjoy social interactions.

Annoying fan girls.

Shikamaru had these annoying fan girls that kept on staring at him and all that. They enjoy bothering him whenever they had the chance, whether it was during class or lunch hour. They kept on asking Shikamaru out on dates and all those annoying stuffs.

" _Shikamaru ignores them all the time, though."_ I smirked and then glared at Shikamaru's 'precious' fan girls who couldn't stop staring at him.

They glared back at me and it became some kind of staring competition.

They hated me. Why? For obvious reasons.

They hate me because I'm the best friend of their beloved 'Shikamaru-sama'.

I rolled my eyes at them and entered my class for Homeroom.

In the classroom, desks were divided into pairs. Since we were allowed to choose our own seats, I chose to sit with Shikamaru. He didn't care much so there weren't any complain from him at least.

Our homeroom teacher was Kakashi Hatake, who, by the way, was always late. He would then give some lame excuses which none of us believed in. There was once he said he was late because a meteor fell on his front door and he couldn't get out.

That was obviously a lie.

After I sat down, Sakura came to me and gave me her usual morning greeting.

"Good morning, pig."

I smiled while rolling my eyes. I'm too used to the insult that I no longer feel insulted anymore.

"Good morning, forehead."

Sakura just rolled her eyes and laughed.

Sakura Haruno was a really close friend of mine. We've known each other since grade school. We often argued but let's just say it made us closer.

I looked to my left and saw Shikamaru who was dozing off. I hit him hard on the arm but it didn't manage to wake him up. I glared at him in annoyance.

I heard Sakura laughed, "You know, Ino, the two of you look like a couple."

I blushed a little at what Sakura said and stood up in reflex, "S-Shut up, stupid forehead!"

Sakura ignored the glare I was giving her and was laughing as she walked back to her seat, which was beside Sasuke Uchiha, by the way.

The two of them had been getting closer since last year, but had yet to start dating. I didn't understand what Sakura saw in Sasuke.

I sat down and looked to my left.

" _I guess people would say the same about me. I know how people are wondering why I can stand having Shikamaru as my best friend."_ I thought.

The door opened and Kakashi-sensei entered the class. I looked at the clock on the wall and realized he was ten minutes late.

"Good morning, everyone. Sorry for being late. You see, when I was on my way here…"

Here we go again. I rolled my eyes as I stared at Kakashi-sensei giving another lame excuse for himself.

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

" _Can't this day just pass by already?"_ I thought as I start dozing off again.

It was lunch time and I was sitting with Ino and the rest of my friends.

Yes, contrary to popular beliefs, I do have friends.

Most of the people here are my classmates since grade school while some are since way before that.

Ino and I had been attending Konoha Academy since we were three years old, along with Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Hinata, and Chouji. Sakura, Tenten, Kiba, Shino and Lee enrolled during grade school. All of us get along in a way, I guess.

My eyes were closed as I listened to the bickering around me. Naruto and Kiba were arguing about ramen, which was completely useless in my opinion. Sasuke and Neji were debating regarding some current political issues. I'm surprised they cared so much actually. I could also clearly hear Ino and Sakura arguing something about the result of the latest season of America's Next Top Model.

" _Why are all of them so noisy?"_ I thought and sighed a little.

The noise continued until the end of lunch time. Since we aren't all in the same class, we went our separate ways after lunch was over. For this school year, I'm in the same class as Ino, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba and Shino.

Our principal, Tsunade-san, made sure that Naruto and Kiba were never in the same class. The two of them caused a lot of troubles before and she didn't want to deal with any of those again.

As for me, I've always been in the same class as Ino. I found it rather suspicious actually, being in the same class as her every year. Something tells me there was someone behind it.

But I didn't really care. I didn't hate having her around anyway.

" _Can't this day just pass already? I'm bored."_ I went back to sleeping right after Kurenai-sensei entered the class for our Chemistry class.

I woke up with the feeling of someone punching me on the side. I knew it what Ino without having to open my eyes.

"Why are you such a troublesome woman?" I muttered as I slowly opened my eyes.

"What did you say?!" Ino whispered angrily. We were in the middle of a Mathematics class taught by Asuma-sensei.

"You're a troublesome woman." I repeated, slightly louder since I was rather frustrated.

"Shikamaru."

I rolled my eyes when I heard Asuma-sensei called my name out. I looked at him and he was grinning a little.

"You hadn't been listening to me at all so I assume you already know how to do the topic. Why don't you come up here and solve this question?"

I glared at Asuma-sensei as I got up. He knew how I hated troublesome stuffs like these.

I went up to the whiteboard and easily solved the problem on the board. To be honest, it was an easy question.

I could hear people sounding amazed and all that as I walked back to my seat. Ino simply rolled her eyes at me, rather used to seeing me being a genius. I smirked at her and went back to sleep.

Asuma-sensei was one of the few teachers I respected a lot. He was even my homeroom teacher for several times. We knew each other pretty well. That was why he enjoys annoying me by making me do questions on the board. He knew exactly how I hated it.

The next time I woke up, it was Biology class which was taught by Kakashi-sensei. He said something about a project which was due next Monday.

"You'll pair up with your seatmate. Make sure to submit it on time." Kakashi announced. "Alright, that's it for today. You guys can go home now. I have nothing much to say for homeroom."

People started getting up but I was too lazy to move an inch. Ino pushed me from my chair though.

"Let's get going, Shikamaru! We can start working on the project tonight!" Ino was packing her stuffs as she spoke.

"It's still Tuesday, Ino."

"But I want to get it over with! I have plans for the weekends!"

"Troublesome woman."

"What did you say?!" Ino put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Whatever, Shikamaru. Oh, come over to my house tonight. I'm planning to cook dinner! We can start the project afterwards."

"You? Cook dinner? Are you serious?" I'm honestly surprised at what I just heard.

Ino Yamanaka was known to be a spoiled princess. She came from a rich family and her father spoiled her a lot. Her personality wasn't bad though, just pushy and annoying at times. Probably because she was used to having things going her way all the time.

"Why do you sound so surprised?!" Ino was starting to sound upset.

"Well, you never cook in your entire life. Are you trying to poison me, Ino?"

"Shut up, Shikamaru! I just want to give cooking a try! It could be fun."

"Whatever. Just don't kill me."

I ignored Ino who was shouting at me, saying I was being mean and all those things she always said.

We were walking towards the front door when I noticed guys checking Ino out. Not a surprise though. She was pretty and had a cheerful personality. Not to mention her well grown body.

" _What the hell, Shikamaru? Get that idea out of your head."_ I scolded myself and glared at the guys staring at Ino. They quickly looked away and went back to doing whatever they were doing.

" _Troublesome people."_

Ino and I got into our respective cars and left the school.

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

"Ahh!"

"Ino-sama! Are you okay?!"

My butler and two maids entered the kitchen when I screamed. I saw that one of the chefs was behind them too, looking rather worried.

"I'm okay. I just scalded my hand a little." I said, trying to not make them worry.

Despite what everyone said, I am not a spoiled brat. I want to prove to people that I can do things by myself!

The first step was to learn how to cook. I didn't expect to be as good as the chefs in the Yamanaka compound, of course.

I got this idea when Sakura told me she prepared lunch for Sasuke few days ago. I wanted to be able to cook as well!

"Ino-sama, do you need any help?"

I turned to the chef who offered to help me.

I politely turned down the offer though, "No, it's alright, Ryuu-san. I can manage on my own."

Everyone seemed unsure as to what to do and was looking rather confused. It was then when my father entered the kitchen as well.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

I turned to look at my father, who looked surprised to see me in the kitchen doing some cooking.

"Daddy!" I ran to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and went straight back to cooking. "As you can see, I'm cooking dinner."

My father still looked confused and blinked a few times, "Why are you preparing dinner, Ino?"

"Because I want to learn how to cook. Oh, by the way, Shikamaru is coming over for dinner too. We will be doing our project afterwards."

I saw my father looking horrified.

It was my turn to look confused as I faced my father, "What's wrong, Daddy?"

"A-Are you training yourself to become Shikamaru's wife?! Are you leaving your mother and I?!"

What.

"Daddy! What are you saying?!" I shouted as I feel heat radiating from my cheeks.

I pushed my father out, along with the others too, "Come on guys, I can manage on my own. Go on now!"

I tried not to think too much on what my father said and went back to cooking.

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

I was laying down on the sofa of the living room while randomly opening channels on the TV. I wasn't really watching since there wasn't anything good. I looked at the time and noticed that it was 6.30 PM.

" _Ino said dinner is at 7 PM. I still don't understand why she decided to cook."_ I thought as I heard my father approach me.

"Shikamaru, I heard from the chef that you won't be having dinner at home tonight. Where are you going?"

My father asked and sat down on the sofa with some documents in his hands.

"I'm going to Ino's place for dinner. She said she wants to cook dinner. We'll be doing our project afterwards too."

I was still opening random channels as I spoke, not noticing the look my father had on his face.

"Ino? Cooking?" My father sounded surprised. That was expected though. My father knew Ino well enough to find it weird that she wanted to be the one cooking.

"Weird, isn't it?" I answered and noticed that there was America's Next Top Model on air. It reminded me of Ino and Sakura's argument during lunch earlier.

My father suddenly stood up, startling me a little.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Do you think Ino is trying to prepare herself to become your wife?" My father had a rather happy expression on, which kind of bothered me.

"W-What? What gave you that idea?" My own father was starting to freak me out.

My father left the living room while grinning, which was a weird thing to witness.

I tried to ignore what he just said and went back to my room to get changed. I'm very close to Ino's family so I didn't need to wear something formal or anything like that. But I was in my boxers and it would be rather inappropriate to go there in them.

I walked to Ino's house, like I usually do. It takes about three minutes actually. Even though we live right next to each other, both our houses were rather big. Hence, it took time for us to get to each other's house. Do I find it troublesome? A bit. Used to it already though.

" _I just realized I'm used to a lot of troublesome things around me."_ I thought to myself as I approached the front door of the Yamanaka compound.

When I knocked, one of the butlers opened the door for me. I politely greeted him and proceeded to the dining hall. Ino's parents were already there.

I greeted both of them and Ino's mother asked me to take a seat.

"Good evening, Shikamaru. Take a seat." Ino's mother had always looked elegant and intelligent, which was different from her daughter.

I noticed that Ino's father looked rather annoyed at me. I didn't know what I did so I wasn't so sure.

I was just chatting with Ino's mother when Ino entered the dining hall carrying plates on both hands.

"I'm done!" Ino declared. She looked rather worn out and less tidy than usual.

There were maids behind Ino who were also carrying plates on their hands and placed them onto the long dining table in front of me.

"I wonder what happened to my daughter. She actually prepared dinner for us." Ino's mother sounded proud from what I saw.

Ino looked proud as well and had been grinning since she entered.

Ino's father sat at the end of the table with Ino and his wife at his sides. I sat beside Ino, who looked really happy.

The food looked great actually. Really great for a first timer like Ino.

" _Surprising indeed."_ I thought as I watched Ino urge us to start eating.

After dinner, we were just chatting when Ino's mother spoke, "Dinner tasteed rather good, Ino. What a surprise. What made you want to learn how to cook? That isn't very like you."

"No reasons in particular." Ino said, looking very pleased with her cooking.

"She is preparing herself to be a wife. She is leaving us." Ino's father said that while glaring at me, which made me very confused.

" _What did I do?"_ I thought as I concluded that Inoichi's glare was very intimidating.

"Daddy! Why do you keep on saying that?!" Ino shouted and I noticed the blush on her cheeks.

"You began to learn cooking because you want to marry Shikamaru and become a good wife. You're growing up way too fast, Ino." Inoichi had a rather sad expression on as he said that.

"Daddy, stop saying weird stuffs!" The blush on Ino's cheeks deepened and I tried not to look too intimidated. "Anyway, Shikamaru and I need to do our project. Bye now!"

Ino pulled me from my seat and it was clear she didn't want to hear more from her father.

When I was leaving the dining hall, I saw Inoichi giving me deadly glares, as if silently telling me, "I'll kill you if you do anything to my daughter."

I gulped and looked away from Ino's scary father.

Ino's father was definitely one of the very few people I'm afraid of.

* * *

 **Inoichi's POV**

" _That lazy ass brat Shikamaru is trying to take my daughter away from me."_ That was my thought as I walked towards the Nara compound.

I knocked on the door and a butler opened it for me. He led me to the garden, where Shikaku was sitting on a bench while drinking tea.

"What brings you here, Inoichi?" Shikaku asked when I sat beside him.

Another butler came to bring a cup of tea for me and I thanked him before he left us.

"Your son is trying to take my daughter away from me." I said, glaring at Shikaku while sipping on my cup of tea.

Shikaku simply laughed, "Come on, Inoichi. Why can't you just let the young ones fall in love?"

"L-Love?! I just can't accept this!"

"You're just not accepting the fact that Ino is growing up and will one day leave to live with her husband."

I just stared at Shikaku because what he said was right. I was indeed afraid of the day Ino will leave the Yamanaka compound and live with her husband.

"You know,Inoichi. If Shikamaru and Ino really get married, Ino will just be living beside you. Isn't that better than having her living somewhere far away?"

I blinked a few times, taking in the idea that never crossed my mind.

Shikaku was right.

Shikaku laughed, "That's why you should just let the two of them be, Inoichi. I assure you.." There was seriousness in Shikaku's eyes as he continued, "My son will definitely cherish your daughter."

I calmed down a little and sipped on my cup of tea again.

"Well, he better be." I muttered, which earned a soft laugh from my best friend.

Author's Note: That's the end of chapter 1! Hope everyone likes it! Please leave a review on the way out. I will really appreciate it if you would tell me what you think of the story! Suggestions are welcomed so feel free to leave reviews, guys! Thank you for reading!


	2. Friday Night

Author's Note: I hope you'll enjoy reading chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Friday Night

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

It was Friday and I was glad we were done with the Biology project. Shikamaru was a genius, after all. Even though he kept on dozing off when we were doing the project, he still did a splendid job.

During lunch time, I was hanging out with my closest female friends, Sakura, Hinata and Tenten, and we were discussing our plans for that night. We were sitting on the grass at one of the school's gardens.

"Where are we going tonight?" Tenten asked.

I was smiling excitedly as I answered, "We're going to the new club! Everyone's talking about how awesome that place is."

"Aren't we underage? We need to be eighteen to enter." It was Hinata who pointed out the problem.

"Yes, that is true. But there is a solution to that." I was probably grinning evilly because I saw a small trace of fear in Hinata's face as she looked into my eyes.

"Let me guess. Fake ID cards?" Sakura said.

"Bingo! I've already asked a senior to help me out and I've got us some fake ID cards." I was still grinning happily at my own little accomplishment.

"Which senior is so nice to help you out?" I sensed sarcasm in Sakura's tone when she asked that.

"Hidan." I answered and took out the fake ID cards. I handed them to the girls to let them take a look at it. "I just flirted with him a little and he agreed to help me out."

"I have another problem. What am I supposed to say to my father tonight? He will be furious if he found out I'm going to the club." Hinata asked with her fake ID in her hands.

"My father will most probably kill me too." I answered with a sigh. "But no worries, I've got that figured out too! I've booked a hotel room for us at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. We'll stay there for the night. They wouldn't really suspect we'll be going to a club."

"They'll probably think we're going there to chill at the spa or just hanging out in the room." Tenten said.

"Not a flawless plan but not a bad one. We just have to be careful to not be exposed." Sakura said.

"And since we are not going home afterwards, we can go all out at the club! I'm so excited!" I exclaimed. "Let's meet up at the hotel lobby at 5 PM. School ends at 3 PM and 2 hours should be enough for us to go home, pack clothes, ask permission from our parents and travel from home to the hotel."

"Sounds great." Sakura smiled and lay down on the grass. "Now that we have a concrete plan, we can relax for the rest of lunch hour."

I joined Sakura on the grass and took in the softness of the Earth on my skin.

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

"Come on, Shikamaru! Let's go!"

Naruto, Kiba and I were walking back to the classroom from the canteen. Naruto had been trying to convince me to go with him and the others to a new club.

"Why should I?" I answered in frustration.

"It'll be fun. I promise you!" Naruto continued convincing me as we were walking back to our classroom.

"What about this, Shikamaru? If you go with us tonight, Naruto and I will not force you to teach us Mathematics for the rest of the month." Kiba suggested.

 _"_ _That sounds like a great deal actually. Teaching Naruto and Kiba Mathematics are both hopeless and very troublesome."_ I thought. I leaned on a nearby wall and sighed.

"Fine." I answered. They didn't seem to want 'no' for an answer.

"Sweet!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's more fun if the whole gang is going."

"Whole gang?" I asked with one eyebrow rose.

"Sasuke, Neji, Lee, Chouji and Shino are going too." Kiba answered my confusion.

"Do you guys have the fake ID cards ready?" I asked. I doubt they forgot the fact that they were still underage.

"Got it!" Naruto answered. "We made Sasuke flirt with Karin-senpai to help us get some fake ID cards."

I smirked at the thought of Sasuke being forced to flirt with Karin, whom he hated to the very core.

"Alright then, we'll meet up in front of the club at 10 PM. Don't oversleep, Shikamaru!" Naruto said and hit me on the back.

I simply rolled my eyes and continued walking back to my classroom.

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

When I mentioned the names of Sakura, Hinata and Tenten, asking permission from my parents was easy.

I arrived at the hotel lobby at 5 PM sharp and noticed that the others were there already. I bid goodbye to my driver and butler. I turned to wave at the girls as the car drove away.

We went into the room, which was spacious and beautifully decorated. There were two queen sized beds and it was perfect for the four of us. We started unpacking and showed one another the dresses we were going to wear that night.

"Let's go out for dinner!" I suggested. "There is a nearby restaurant I often go with Shikamaru and it's really good."

I hung my dress inside the wardrobe and saw my friends smirking at me at the corner of my eye.

"Is it where you usually go on dates with Shikamaru, Ino?" Sakura asked in a teasing tone.

I couldn't control the blush on my cheeks and the stuttering of my voice, "W-What?! No! It is not a date!" I turned around to meet three pairs of teasing faces.

"Then what is it?" Tenten asked with a pair of playful eyes.

"I-It's a normal outing." I answered and looked away, not wanting to let them see more of my flushed face.

"Oh, normal." Hinata giggled when she said that.

"Not you too, Hinata!" I said and closed the wardrobe.

"Just admit that you like Shikamaru, Ino." Sakura said as she sat on the bed.

"That is not true!" I tried defending myself but none of them seemed to believe me. It must be because of my blushing cheeks.

"Let me ask you, Ino." Tenten walked a few steps towards me. "If you saw Shikamaru with other girls, what would you do or how would you feel?"

"I'll kill them." I said out of reflex. "W-Wait! I-I mean I won't care!"

The three of them were laughing at me as I panicked and the heat on my face became hotter.

"Alright, guys. We better stop teasing her before she exploded out of embarrassment." Sakura said and head towards the door.

We arrived at the restaurant after walking for ten minutes from the hotel. The restaurant served Western food and had a really great reputation since their service was really good as well.

The waitress showed us to a seat by the window and gave us each a menu.

The waitress left us to look through the menu before getting our orders.

When I was looking through the menu, I realized that I couldn't get Shikamaru out of my head.

I could perfectly identify the foods he liked and disliked. I also know which soup was his favourite. And judging from the weather, I could even imagine which drink he would order.

I knew I was blushing and I tried to hide my face using the menu. I wouldn't want the others to see my red face.

 _"_ _Do I really like Shikamaru?"_ I thought. _"Even if I do, he will never like me back. I'm a troublesome woman, after all."_ I sighed as I remembered how he always called me a 'troublesome woman'.

I tried to erase those depressing thoughts away as the girls and I told the waitress our orders.

It was 7 PM when we arrived back in our hotel room. We took turns to shower and get ready for the night.

We helped each other with our makeup and we were definitely having lots of fun. We had our dresses on already and everyone looked amazing!

I wore a tight black dress which Tenten said was rather short. I found it perfect though. It perfectly showed my curves and it made me felt confident. Sakura's hot pink dress was great too. She looked mature and stunning! Tenten wore a sleeveless light blue dress and had her hair down. She rarely put her hair down, which I didn't quite understand. She looked amazing with her hair down, after all. As for Hinata, her dress was white, which was a great match for her eyes.

"Don't we all look great?" I asked as I stand in front of the full length mirror.

"We sure do." Sakura replied as she gave herself some finishing touches using her makeup brush.

It was 10 PM when we were all ready to leave. We took a taxi to the club, which was approximately a twenty minutes ride away from the hotel.

 _"_ _I can't wait to have fun!"_ I thought to myself as I looked out of the window.

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

I had been sitting and drinking alcohol ever since I arrived at the club. I refused to go dance no matter how much Naruto tried to convince me it would be fun.

I was with Sasuke and Neji in the booth and the three of us were enjoying watching people around us.

"Look at Lee." I heard Sasuke said. "I think he is drunk."

"He doesn't have a high tolerance for alcohol, after all." Neji said and took another sip of alcohol.

"He's hitting on a girl." Sasuke said with a smirk.

I saw Lee, who had a flushed face, hitting on a girl with dyed pink hair. You would know if the pink hair was dyed or not if you spent enough time with Sakura, whose pink hair was totally natural.

"I think he is so drunk he has mistaken that girl for Sakura." I said. "What a troublesome guy."

"Is Lee still having a huge crush on Sakura?" Sasuke asked as he glared at Lee.

"Most probably." Neji answered. He smirked as he continued, "Why do you sound jealous, Uchiha?"

"I am not. Shut up, Hyuuga." Sasuke answered and leaned back onto the sofa.

As I looked around, I noticed that Kiba was making out with a girl, who seemed to be older than him.

"It seems that Kiba is having some fun." Sasuke said, looking towards the same direction as me.

"Something tells me that girl won't be his only prey tonight." I said and Neji nodded in agreement.

Just then, my eyes caught sight of four girls who were way too familiar.

"Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" I asked the two other guys beside me.

"I think I know what you're saying." Neji answered. "What is Hinata doing here? That was rather unexpected."

"Something tells me this is Ino's idea." I said as I finished the glass of alcohol in my hand.

Sasuke suddenly stood and cleared his throat.

"Where are you going?" Neji asked.

"I'm going for a walk." Sasuke answered and left the booth.

"Again, something tells me he is going to hit on Sakura." I said with a smirk.

"He is finally taking some action." Neji said and finished his glass of alcohol as well.

Just like Sasuke, he stood and was leaving the booth, "I'm going to make sure Naruto doesn't hit on my cousin."

I smirked at Neji and said, "Are you sure you're not going to hit on Tenten?"

"Shut up, Shikamaru." Neji rolled his eyes at me and left.

I wasn't left alone for long though.

Right after Sasuke and Neji left the booth, two girls approached me. It was obvious they there to flirt. One of them had long and brown hair and was wearing a tight dark blue dress. As for the other one, her hair was shoulder length and red in colour. Her maroon dress looked as if it wasn't functioning well as a garment.

Basically, I felt that these two were trying too hard to be sexy.

 _"_ _Troublesome."_ I thought as I leaned back onto the sofa.

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

I lost count on how much I had drank ever since I arrived at the club. A lot of guys came to flirt with me and even offered me some drinks. I wasn't interested in any of them though so I didn't give them the attention they wanted.

I was dancing a lot and was sitting by the bar to rest. A few moments ago, I saw Sakura with Sasuke. I was giggling at the thought of those two together. It was about time those two got together. They had no progress for a while now.

As for Hinata, she was dragged by Naruto onto the dance floor. I tried not to laugh when I saw Hinata blushing so hard. She looked like she was going to faint. That wasn't something surprising though.

I saw Neji from afar and I thought he was going to get Hinata away from Naruto. However, he was too busy talking to Tenten. Well, those two seemed more like they were flirting and not just simply talking.

Then, something that boiled my blood caught my attention. If someone was to ask me why I was so angry, I honestly didn't know how to answer.

In one of the booths, I saw Shikamaru sitting on a sofa with two girls. A girl with brown hair was sitting on his left and on his right was a girl with red hair.

Those two girls were obviously flirting with Shikamaru, who was drinking alcohol as the girls talked to him. Apparently, those two weren't just talking. They had their hands all over him! I saw the one on the left rubbing Shikamaru's thigh while the other one was touching his chest.

 _"_ _What in the world do they think they're doing?!"_ I flared up and without much thinking; I stomped towards the booth they were in.

When the two girls noticed my presence, they looked up at me in confusion.

"What do you want?" The one with brown hair asked and glared at me.

I gave them an even scarier glare and said in a pissed off tone, "I should be the one asking. What are you guys doing?"

Shikamaru opened his eyes when he heard my voice. He looked rather surprised I was there.

"Ino." He called out, completely ignoring the girls beside him.

I went back to glare at the girls and the next thing I said shocked even myself. I decided it must be the alcohol that was taking over me. I couldn't stop myself from talking or acting. I wasn't that drunk, of course. My alcohol tolerance was considered high. I was just slightly tipsy. That explains why I acted the way I did.

"What do you guys think you're doing?" I asked again. "The man you're flirting with is my boyfriend."

The two girls stood up and glared at me, "Oh, really? He didn't mention he has a girlfriend. Stop dreaming!"

I was going to say something when Shikamaru spoke, "I didn't say anything because talking to you two is too troublesome."

I looked over to Shikamaru, who motioned me to go to him.

I walked over to him and was surprised when he pulled me into his arms. I was sitting on his lap with my arms around his neck. I felt heat radiating from my cheeks when I realized how close Shikamaru's face was to mine.

The two girls were fuming when they left us.

"What a bunch of troublesome women." Shikamaru said. "What brings you here, Ino?"

I was still in shock and my cheeks were still burning. However, alcohol took over me again and I couldn't control what I did next.

I held Shikamaru closer to me and kissed him on the lips. I saw Shikamaru's eyes opened wide before I close my eyes to concentrate on the softness I felt on my lips. It didn't take a long time before Shikamaru returned the kiss. He wrapped me in his embrace as we deepened our kiss. It effortlessly became one of the sweetest things I have ever felt in my whole life.

"Shikamaru." I breathed out his name when he left my lips. I was going to pull him back for another kiss when he started kissing my neck instead.

I couldn't stop my moans from escaping as I took in the pleasure I felt from Shikamaru's lips. I held onto him tighter and at that moment, I've decided to not let him go.

The alcohol effect had left me instantly when we started kissing. I was so glad I wasn't drunk or else I would've forgotten the happiness I felt when I was in Shikamaru's arms.

I was disappointed when Shikamaru suddenly stopped kissing my neck and was looking at me in the eyes. He had seriousness in his eyes when he said, "Sorry. I kind of got carried away."

I saw a slight blush on his cheeks and smiled, "Don't apologize. I was the one who kissed you first."

I was still sitting on Shikamaru's lap when he asked, "So, why did you come over just now?"

"I saw those two touching you all over and it pissed me off."

"Oh, why is that?"

I felt my face blushing even more, "I-I don't know."

"Is that so?" Shikamaru had a smirk on his face. I had always found his smirk sexy.

 _"_ _Why is this lazy bum such a sexy creature?"_ I thought as I tried not to look at him directly into the eyes.

* * *

 **Shikamaru's POV**

I was definitely surprised when Ino kissed me earlier. Seeing her getting jealous when other girls flirted with me was a common sight. Kissing, however, was a totally new thing.

Ino looked stunning that night and absolutely sexy. Her blushing face was adorable as well. Something inside me said I wanted to keep her for myself.

 _"_ _I wish I could be the only one who will ever see her blush like this."_ I thought and smiled.

I wouldn't lie to myself and said I didn't have feelings for Ino. Yes, I kept on calling her a troublesome woman. But honestly, she was the trouble I wished to keep in my life. I just couldn't imagine what it would be like without her.

I never confessed because I wasn't sure if she liked me back. I cherish our friendship too much to take the risk of having it destroyed if she didn't like me back.

I realized Ino was slightly tipsy when she first came to me to chase the girls away. But I realized that all alcohol effects were gone right after we kissed. I knew Ino long enough to know whether or not she was under the effects of alcohol.

Knowing that it wasn't the alcohol that made her continue kissing me, I was sure it was time for me to confess.

As for myself, I wasn't tipsy at all. My alcohol tolerance was higher than that of Ino's. However, the alcohol helped me gain more courage for saying what I was about to say.

"I love you, Ino."

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed reading it! Please tell me what you think of this story by leaving a review. I will continue working hard to improve this story so please continue reading the next chapters. I will upload them as soon as possible. And if you are interested, you may wish to check out my other Naruto fanfics featuring Sasuke/Sakura and Neji/Tenten pairings. Thank you for reading!


	3. Forever Love

Author's Note: I'm back with chapter 3, everyone! For those who support this story, I'm really grateful. I'm rather sad to inform everyone that this is the last chapter for this story. But don't worry! I will write another Shimaru/Ino fanfic one day and I hope you'll read it too!

Chapter 3: Forever Love

* * *

 **Ino's POV**

The club was loud and music was roaring at the background. But Shikamaru's words were as clear as day. The smile he had on his face when he said those words made my heart melt.

I wanted to cry that time but all I could do was blanking stare at him. I was totally speechless and I felt stupid. I knew I had to do something but I was frozen in the spot.

Shikamaru laughed when he felt my trembling hands on his chest and gently stroke my cheeks to calm me down. As I felt his hands softly touching me, I couldn't help but bring him into another embrace.

I wanted to hug him as tightly as I could. I wanted to make sure all of these were real. I desperately wanted to make sure Shikamaru saw me more than just a troublesome woman.

He said he loved me and I just couldn't believe how blessed I felt.

"I love you too. I really do. I just didn't expect you would feel the same."

I couldn't stop my tears from falling and I felt even more stupid. I had been hiding my feelings for Shikamaru for so long. I chose to ignore them and pretended I didn't have feelings for my lazy best friend. But I would get jealous every time I saw girls flirt with him. I would be pissed when Shikamaru called someone else pretty or cute. All I wanted was to keep him for myself.

It was obvious that I loved him but I was too scared to admit it.

I thought I'm just a troublesome woman in Shikamaru's eyes. I'm nothing more than an annoying best friend who couldn't stop waking him up in class. And here he was, proving to me that I was wrong all along.

My tears showed how relieved I was to find out about his honest feelings. I was beyond happy.

"Why in the world are you crying?" Shikamaru was stroking my hair as a way of comforting me.

It reminded me of the other times he was always there to cheer me up after a bad day. It reminded me how much I needed Shikamaru in my life. I wouldn't want to let him go.

"Please don't ever let me go." I sounded desperate but I didn't care. All I wanted was Shikamaru to look at me and me only for the rest of our lives. I wouldn't be strong enough to watch him grow old with another woman.

I felt Shikamaru's arms around me tightening and I felt him kiss my hair.

"I will never let you go."

His words were so sincere and more tears began escaping my eyes. I felt so loved and nothing else seemed to matter to me that time.

I didn't know how long we stayed there, just taking in the feeling of having the one we loved in our arms. It felt peaceful and quiet, as if the loud background music had disappeared.

I must have been really tired from all the drinking, dancing and crying. I didn't even realize I was slowly drifting off to dream land.

* * *

 ** _10 years afterwards…_**

 **Shikamaru's POV**

"What?!"

I flinched a little when I heard Inoichi shouted. He turned pale and was clearly in deep shock.

I stood up from the sofa in Ino's living room and slowly walked towards the stunned Inoichi.

I cleared my throat out of nervousness and repeated myself.

"I'm asking for your permission to marry Ino."

In the corner of my eye, I saw Ino looking worried as she stared at her father. Even I was beginning to feel worried.

Inoichi was known to be an overprotective father and he doted on Ino a whole lot. It was not a surprise that he was reluctant to see her daughter getting married.

Last night when Ino and I told my parents we were getting married, my father's first words caught me off guard.

"Good luck breaking the news to Inoichi." That was what my father said before he started laughing out loud, which was something he didn't do often.

I unconsciously gulped when I saw Inoichi regaining his composure. Ino's mother was much calmer and was holding onto her husband's arm. It was her way of comforting her husband who was in deep shock I guessed.

Despite my nervousness, I stared into Inoichi's eyes with confidence. I wanted to show him that I was capable of making his precious daughter happy and that I would cherish her forever.

Inoichi stared back at me and I was annoyed that I wasn't able to read what was on his mind. His expressions were unreadable and that was scary.

His sigh broke the silence and I felt a huge weight removed from my heart when I saw a smile on his face.

Ino jumped from her seat and quickly grabbed me arm. She looked at her father with eyes full of hope, a complete opposite of what she looked like just a few moments ago.

"I know you'll cherish my daughter, Shikamaru. She was clearly much happier ever since the two of you started dating. Perhaps I was just shocked that it was time to let my precious baby daughter go." Inoichi had a gentle fatherly look with a tint of sadness in his eyes.

I felt Ino letting go of my arms slowly and walked towards her father. There were tears on the verge of escaping her eyes and she hugged her father.

"I'm still your precious daughter even after I'm married. I would still love you unconditionally."

I felt warm inside looking at the sight in front of me. Seeing how loving Ino was made me even surer of my decision to propose to her.

Inoichi hugged his daughter and wiped away her tears. Even Ino's mother, who had always been a calm person, couldn't stop her tears from falling. The atmosphere was filled with love and care as Ino hugged her parents and I was deeply touched to see how much Ino was loved in her family.

I took a few more steps towards the loving family and reassured them that I would love Ino no matter what happened.

"Please entrust your daughter's happiness to me."

Ino's parents looked at me with gentle expressions which touched me even more. I knew how much they loved their only daughter and to see that they trusted me so much had made me very happy.

Ino came running to me and gave me a bear hug when her parents nodded at me.

"I hope you wouldn't find me too troublesome after getting married." Ino said as she placed her head on my chest.

I hugged her closer to myself and planted a soft kiss on her head.

"I would love you and your troublesome personality forever."

After all, Ino was a troublesome woman I would love forever.

That was for sure.

 **THE END.**

* * *

Author's Note: I couldn't think of a better way to end this story. I hope you guys liked it! Please look forward to the next Shikamaru/Ino fanfic. Please leave a review on your way out as well! I would really appreciate that. Thank you for reading this fanfic, everyone!


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